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Motor proteins

The tail wags the motor

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Cytoplasmic dynein is a complex molecular motor that steps along microtubules. Advanced biophysical measurements reveal a surprising role for the dynein tail domain in the allosteric control of dynein’s mechanochemistry within assemblies composed of multiple dynein motors.

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Fig. 1: Scheme of intermolecular allosteric regulation within multi-motor dynein–dynactin–cargo adaptor assemblies.

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  1. Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, USA

    Richard J. McKenney

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  1. Richard J. McKenney
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Correspondence to Richard J. McKenney.

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McKenney, R.J. The tail wags the motor. Nat Chem Biol 15, 1033–1034 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41589-019-0367-6

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